Respect.
Drama is better kept IC. Respect is key between members; if you want respect you must give respect. If there's a problem with a member please contact either one of the mods or one of the admins.

Site Rating
TAOE is an intermediate to advanced, mature rated site [M], so we ask that all members to be just that; mature. There can be some pretty heavy subject matter so be warned. No characters below 18 years old. NPCs like children and such can be mentioned. ​There will be no child molester characters allowed on this site.

Word Count
Though there's no word count, we ask that you try and match your partner's number of words. It's no fun when you write a nice big paragraph and you get a couple sentences back, right? Then don't do it.

Number of Characters
There's no limit to the amount of characters you can make, however before you can make a second character, we ask that your first character has 10 IC posts. Same goes for any subsequent character. PLEASE KEEP YOUR CHARACTERS ACTIVE IF YOU WANNA KEEP THEM.

Registration
Register your character as "First Last" on the site, with your character names. If you messed up somehow talk to an admin, they'll be more then glad to edit your name for you. OOC accounts are reserved for Admins and Moderators, so please do not make them!

Avatars
Avatar pics are 250px by 300px. The personal image on the minioprofile is a square and will resize automatically. This can be an image that represents the player, much like the avatars on the cbox! The Gif is 230px by 110px. Since the skin was so nicely coded by YunoTheNine, we ask to have high quality images please, keep the site pretty. Here is a link to help crop images and gifs: EZGif | PicMonkey

Faceclaims
We ask that all faceclaims/play bys to be of actors of age (17 and older). We also ask them to be of real people (actors, models, etc, someone you can get pics and gifs), no anime or other cartoon characters. If you want to use art of your character you can put that in your signature, if you wish.

God-Modding
There will be none tolerated. There are rules to character powers and such for that reason, please see those sections in order to make sure you're not making your character too strong. If you have any questions contact an admin or mod and they'll be more then happy to help!

Templates
We simply ask (please) that you use the basic template which is provided within the posts, super easy, either click on the button that says "template" when you write your post or write [template][/*template] at the beginning and end of a post (minus the star). Plotters are required to have a template, but there's lots of resource sites for that such as Caution to the Wind

Classification
Generally speaking, the only classification changes characters can undergo is from Pure to Imperfect. Characters can POTENTIALLY go back to Elisium pretending to be Pures, but that would be a very elaborate plot that needs to be discussed with either By or Jonah before it happens.

Copyright
Everything on this site is copyrighted to the said members or individuals here on TAOE. Skin was made by YunoTheNine of Shine. Templates and Graphics belong to the rightful owners, and there will be no stealing characters either. So we will put it frank, you steal ANYTHING without giving the proper credit, you will be banned. No warning.

MOST IMPORTANTLY
We're all here to have a good time! So kick back, write loads, and have fun~! Make some friends! Like, for instance, Steve Buscemi, who also happens to be the password that you need to send to an admin via PM in order to get accepted. ;)

Plot

GENERAL

TAOE is set in the biggest city, Haven, of the Isle of Man, an island reserved for those the government deems 'imperfect'. Sexual orientation, gender expression, mental and physical health, intelligence, your willingness to cooperate... It all leads up to your ultimate downfall, the one that brings you to the doors of Haven. The weather is harsh, the streets are filthy, and most of the inhabitants live in poverty, fighting for sport and profit, and joining gangs to get by. It's a tough life, that in Haven, but hey; someone has to be a scapegoat.

But little does the government know, there's something about the Isle of Man that changes its inhabitants. They call it the Flux, and it's quite the phenomenon, leaving people who were once only usual in spirit or body, now unusual in ability. It's like a power, one that can come suddenly, or over time, or even not at all. It all depends, person to person, and is, for whatever reason, all based around the citizen's personality. Whether you're Pure or Imperfect, you have a chance of being blessed, or cursed.

Yet, through this rejection and hardship this is where home lies, and this is your chance to make it so.

HISTORY

The Authority is in place to protect us. They serve us to the best of their ability, they protect the citizens of this country until their very last dying breath. Long ago was a time where there was no peace. War raged upon the land, death and destruction ravaged the people, destroyed their homes, split them apart into chaos. In their desperation for control over the anarchy and disarray, the Authority stepped into their ranks, unannounced, unwelcome at first. This did not last.
They lured the people into their grasp with the promise of peace and prosperity, a vow to food, the end of crime and violence. Of course, the good, the bad and the ugly wanted in on this pledge, and many started taking advantage of the system. Like leeches they sucked, squeezed what they could of the government, to the point where there was general alarm, the populace began to notice! And thus began the weeding.
At first it was but criminals, the worst of the worst, all raided and plucked from the public eye, sent away to an undisclosed location for the safety of the country. But their haul through time grew in size; illness causes panic, those who are sick must be put somewhere else, disability, lest it be mental or physical, leads to voids in the community, gender should be a norm of two, no more no less, and those who do not confirm are to be re-educated or removed... the list for their demands grew longer and more elaborate.

Soon, correctional and holding facilities for these so dubbed Imperfects were so overcrowded you might as well akin them to cans of sardines. The Authority realized they needed a different strategy to keep these people from their Pure society.

They found an island, abandoned from times past, a city crumbling from within. The Isle of Man, reclaiming the city as their own they called it Haven in order to mask the true atrocity behind their Elisium.

This was sixty years ago. We are now the year 2021, three generations into Haven's rebirth.

AHOY MATEYS, this is your friendly neighborhood By peeking her face through the blinds and saying hello~! Been at this RPing thing since I was just a WEE LASS and man if I've come this far I must like it eh? Currently known as your local thread hoarder and one of the admins of TAOE! We've all been working ultra hard on this site so I hope it fills all the little cackles of your writing hearts~
pssttt don't be shy, none of us bite, promise. 8D

Guess what! By's a dirty liar. ​I​ bite. I go right for the jugular, every time. My name's Jonah, I'm a cute little baby boy, and I've been at this writing biz for about three years now. I'm not completely dead inside, but boy, am I on my way there! I'm a lean mean posting machine, and I like to just eat chocolate frosting sometimes. I just eat it. Right out of the thing. Give me your love.

I’m a die hard potterhead, metal head, and coffee addict. I have four dogs, two chihuahuas named Tali and Liara, a pitbull named Surri Dog, and an American Staffordshire Terrier named Norma Jean. I’m a bit of a crazy dog lady, but I’m okay with it.

Yo, I'm Roman! I'm a little noodle who wears too much black with hair as red as a fire truck. I am a firm believer in the power of art, and one day I hope to free all the animals from Sea World while Fall out Boy's "Folie à Deux" album plays in the background. I'm always open to talk about anything from plotting to personal life, so don't hesitate to hit me up! Happy writing!

Hi guys, I'm AngelRayne, you can either call me Angel, Rayne, or some variation, just let me know my name and I'll respond! Anyways I'm the site's official cuddler/snuggler. So if you ever need a hug/cuddle/snuggle let me know and I will drown you in cuddles. And as you may have guessed, YOU'RE ALL ​​MINE​​!

Greetings fellow earthlings! The name's Grace, and I'm the resident ninja and Queen of typos here. But aside from that, I'm just your typical random oddball who's into K-pop, watching anime, and loves shoving her face into books.... Well, not really. I just love to read x3 Anywho I've been doing this whole roleplaying thang since way back in 2008 and it's safe to say that I've become addicted. So why not come and be addicts with us all? Okay, yeah. That's a weird way to put it. Just join us pretty please~? We're nice peeps, I swear!

Omg, I get to type and say hi to you guys! Like, what?! Hehe, hi there, most of you know me from our time elsewhere together, but for anyone who came after I left on the old site: hello. My name is Yuno, or fully "YunoTheNinetales." I picked up coding about a year ago, a little more by now, and honestly I love it. Beyond just the coding itself, though, I love helping other people figure it out. So, seriously, if you ever want some help coding something, learning how to do it, or simply fixing a bug that you cant find; feel free to hit me with a PM~!. You're also more than welcome to make requests on my CTTW Bird House. Love you all, happy posting! -Regards; Yuno

News

01/02/2016 - Happy birthday to Monkey the Hamster! He just turned two, which is very impressive for a creature of his size. Congratulate him for this brand new chapter of his life!

01/03/2016 - Hope you all had a fantastic holiday season and happy birthday to Grace~! We all love you, and we hope you get everything you want, as well as love, hugs, smothers and COOKIES. Yes. We love you. <3

11/22/2015 - Merry Christmas to everyone! Yuno has created a new site skin as a Christmas gift. Love you all and hope you like it! any questions or comments, please contact Yuno via a PM for assistance. Always happy to help!

09/21/2015 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY JONAHPONAH. WE ALL KNOW YOU PROBABLY GOT YOURSELF DRUNK ON CAKE SO HOPE IT WAS A FANTABULOUS DAY. LOTS OF LOVE TO YOU, MAY THIS DAY BE MERRY MERRY MERRY.

09/15/2015 - Got some new ads you can spread the good word with, check 'em out!

Whether you're new or old to this community, one person we have always got to remember is out loving friend Kaityn Rayne. She was a very creative and great person, easy to talk to and always there. Anyone who knew Kaityn knows just how nice she was.

For a lot of us, she was the first person to speak to us and welcome us to the community. As of the 28th of June she has no longer been with us. It's a very sad thing, although Kaityn was the kind of person who wouldn't want us to be upset with her not being here. That being said, in her honor we are working hard to write amazing new stories. Her memory will always be with us. Kaityn, we love you. ♥ -Yuno

TAOE is set in the biggest city, Haven, of the Isle of Man, an island reserved for those the government deems 'imperfect'. Sexual orientation, gender expression, mental and physical health, intelligence, your willingness to cooperate... It all leads up to your ultimate downfall, the one that brings you to the doors of Haven. The weather is harsh, the streets are filthy, and most of the inhabitants live in poverty, fighting for sport and profit, and joining gangs to get by. It's a tough life, that in Haven, but hey; someone has to be a scapegoat.

Kaeneus really hated staying this late, but lately he'd been needing to more and more often. The workshop was going through a rough spot, any he had to push out his hours just to make ends meet. Working just from dusk until dawn seemed like a luxury: he'd been working far beyond that. Some nights he didn't even bother to go home. It'd be so late by the time he got home that he wouldn't have twenty minutes to sleep before he had to get up to start work again.

Tonight was another one of those nights. He had about a dozen orders to finish before the end of the week, and he really couldn't afford to loose the clients to someone else. As it was, not everyone even owned something for him to fix. Those that has the money to afford the types of gadgets he specialised in were of the 'higher society' in Haven, and they were accustomed to getting what they wanted when they wanted it. They wouldn't accept Kaeneus making them wait.

He'd been burning the candle at both ends all day to try and get it done, and was starting to feel the effects of it. His vision was starting to blur, his eye-lids becoming heavy, and his hands becoming way too clumsy to do the kind of delicate work he sometimes needed to. Clumsiness and machinery generally don't mix, so he decided to call it a night before he lost a finger.

Kaeneus set down the screwdriver and geared mechanism he'd been tinkering with. With a sigh, he pushed his chair away from his desk and set his sleeping bag up in a corner . He turned out the small lantern he had on the floor next to him. Just as he was about to fall asleep, though, he heard a noise that jolted him awake.

Night time seemed to be the best time of day to steal, at least, Alexis had always thought so. It seemed safer then, even if it was the time that every other thief seemed to come out of the woodwork. There were still other people out, but not as many as there were in the day time. She also kept to a street that didn't seem to be very crowded at night, just hoping that no one would see her and call the authorities. She didn't really like that she had to steal from people, but she had to do something to survive. She hated that this was the best way for her to do it, but she didn't have many other choices.

She had been staying outside the mechanic workshop most of the day, staking it out so she could break in when the owner went home. But that night the owner seemed to not want to go home at all, it was getting very late and the lights was still on inside. Maybe the owner actually lived at his shop. Alexis hoped not, it wouldn't be unheard of, but it would make her work so much harder to do. However, she decided to try her luck anyway. She needed the food too much not to try. Luckily, the lights turned off soon enough, and she waited what she thought was long enough for the owner to fall asleep, before she tried to go in.

She wasn't planning on taking anything too big, or too many things, just one or two things she deemed valuable enough for her to get a decent meal for. She made her way inside as quietly as she possibly could, and moved around slowly trying not to bang into the things around her. Since there was someone in the building with her, she couldn't just turn on a flashlight to help her find her way, and pretty soon she actually did bang into a work bench, which made some tools fall to the floor. That, of course, made a terrible racket, and probably woke up the owner. "For fuck sake." She thought as she quickly looked for a place to hide, if she had been able to, she would probably have said it out loud, so it was a good thing that she was mute. At least in this instance. She made her way into the darkest corner she could find, and stood as still as she could, just hoping the owner wouldn't find her there.

Kaeneus was vaguely tempted to just go back to sleep. He was tired. He was so, so tired. He almost didn't even care if he got stolen from, if he could just get some sleep. But eventually he convinced himself to get up, giving a long, heavy sigh.

Luckily, he'd slept here enough times to have an idea of where everything was in the dark. He found a torch and turned it on, and then grabbed a hammer off of one of his workbenches. He raised it in his right hands, and with his left held the torch out.

The noise had come from the front room. He advanced slowly, listening for any other sign. "Is anyone there?" He called out. Maybe, if they heard him, they would just run off and he could avoid any possible confrontation. For some reason, though, he didn't think he would be that lucky.

He turned the wall into the front room and scanned the room quickly. She was standing so still he missed her the first time. Solid and still and turned away from him, he thought she was just another machine or piece of furniture in his workshop. But no. Of course not.

On the second scan, he actually saw her, and nearly dropped his hammer. He wasn't at all prepared for this. He couldn't see her hands, and for all he knew, he was moments away from getting shot. When he'd first gotten up he hadn't actually believed anyone was in his workshop. Maybe it was just an animal. The hammer was just a precation, and he hadn't expected to actually need to use it.

It took him three long seconds to find his voice. "What are you doing here?" He asked, knowing that the question was a dumb one. Still, he didn't exactly know the proper way to strike up a conversation with a burglar.

Alexis really hoped that the owner would be fast enough asleep to not hear her little misstep, or that he was so tired he wouldn't bother to get up to check who or what it was. She couldn't afford to get caught, there were no one to help her out if she did. She had yet to make a friend who would care enough to do that for her, but she hoped that one day she would meet some one who would. But as long as she didn't get caught, she managed well enough on her own.

When she heard the man being to move around, she tried even harder not to move as she stood in the corner with her back to the room. Hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't see her and just go back to bed. When the light of his torch moved over her and he didn't seemed to notice her there, she almost let out a sigh of relief, but she knew it wasn't over yet. She couldn't hear the man make a move to leave the room, instead she saw the light move over her again, and this time he saw her.

All the time she had been hiding, her right hand had been resting on the hilt of the knife hanging from her belt. She hated having to use it, and never really did unless she was attacked first. But she knew she needed to have it on her, she needed to have a way to defend herself form others. But when the man asked what she was doing there, she moved her hand from the knife and turned around to face him.

While she had been hiding, her eyes had gotten used to the darkness in the room, but as soon as she turned around, the light from his torch hit her eyes and blinded her for a while. So she couldn't see his face or look into his eyes, and there was no way she could answer his question. She moved one of her hands up to shield her eyes, as she tried to make eye contact with him. Once she could finally see his eyes, she hoped that he would keep looking into her as she talked to him. "I think it's pretty obvious." She told him as she just stood there looking at him, hoping he wouldn't freak out when he hear d her voice in his head.

Kaeneus was very aware of the knife the girl was carrying. His eyes kept flicking down to it, watching her hand hovering. He had his own weapon ready, but he really didn't want to use it. He just hoped she was in the same boat, and that this could end without violence. Kae didn't light fighting. Never did. Some people might say it was a weakness, that he was a push over. Couldn't defend himself. But the way he saw it, he didn't want to add any more violence into the mix than there already was. Nothing good can come of that.

Then the voice came. Clear and full and all at once. He couldn't dismiss it as a thought, just something he imagined. Not when this girl looked him straight in the eyes, and he heard a voice ricocheting around his head.

"What the f-" He dropped his torch to the ground ,the beam of light spinning around wildly, casting strange shadows all around the workshop.

"S-stay where you are," he said, trying to sound much more confident than he actually felt. He bent down to retrieve the torch, keeping an eye on the girl as he did, and pointed the light in her face.

"You-you're trying to rob me." He said, clearly stating the obvious. But Kae was so confused he didn't really know what else to say. "And... you can...talk? With your head?"

When Alexis turned to face him, she quickly became aware of the hammer in his hand. It made her a little bit more defensive, maybe even a little scared, but she didn't move her hand to take hold of her knife. Instead she moved both her hands up in a kind of surrender, to show him that she didn't want to hurt him. She didn't want to fight him, she was just hungry, that was the only reason she was there. She was starting to get a bit desperate for food, since she hadn't eaten that much in the last few days. If you looked closely at her you could see how thin she was, but she usually always wore a large hoodie to make sure people couldn't see it.

His reaction to her voice in his head, was pretty much what she had expected. Everyone seemed to freak out when she tried to communicate with them, she hated that she had to scare people that way, but there was no other way to go about it. She had been about to apologize to him for scaring him, but he dropped the torch before she could try to tell him anything.

When he accused her of trying to rob him, she closed her eyes and nodded slowly. She slowly looked up into his eyes again, so she could explain herself to him. "Yes, and I'm sorry. But I really just need the money to get something to eat." She told him softly with an apologetic look in her eyes. When he asked if she could talk with her head, she looked at him with a bit of a confused look on her face. "You talk with your head, too, you know. I'm mute, projecting my thoughts into other peoples' mind is the only way for me to communicate with them."

Kae wasn't big by any stretch of the imagination. If anything, he was small. Real small. Always the shortest guy in the room, always the weakest, too. But he sure as hell knew that he was stronger than the girl in front of him. She was trying with the hoodie, but she couldn't hide how sharp her face had become. She was starved, even more than he was. The knowledge in the back of his head, that he could overpower her if he needed too, made him feel a lot more calm. Not that he wanted to. He generally didn't like the idea of assaulting random emaciated women. But if he had too...if things escalated... he knew he could do it. He took comfort in that, and tried to sort this out in his mind. What this girl was doing obviously seemed....impossible. And yet....

"Do it again," he said. His torch was still up, but he was slowing lowering his hammer. He didn't feel like he would need it, anymore. "Prove I'm not crazy. Tell me your name, and if you don't make any stupid movies, maybe I'll let you worm your way out of this."

Truth be told, Kae really didn't want to hand her into the authorities. He knew people were hungry. He saw it everywhere, every day. He was one of the lucky ones. He couldn't always help everyone, but he sure didn't want to be making it worse for them

If what this girl said was true...and he was almost certain it was, sending her back out on the streets wasn't going to do her any good. If she was stealing from necessity, not choice, being caught wasn't going to stop her.

Though the man was bigger than Alexis and she seemed like she was weak because she so thin, she was actually quite strong. She had to be strong if she needed to defend herself, which was sometimes needed. Even if she hoped it wouldn't be necessary, she was ready to defend herself against this man. She didn't want to fight him, or anyone, she just wanted to be able to survive, that was all she could think about. At least until she could find another way to live, where she didn't have to steal. Though she doubted that she could find another way of life, not when she was only good at stealing and fighting. Who would ever hire someone like her?

When he demanded that she should speak again, she grew a bit irritated with him. Yes, she might have broken into his workshop, but she hadn't taken anything at all, or presented any kind of threat to him. "I'm not a freak show or a dog for you to demand tricks of. I'll talk to you if you want me to, but not if you demand it of me like that." She told him as she looked him in the eye. Maybe that would anger him, but she really didn't like being treated like that just because that was her way of communicating. She knew that it freaked people out, but that didn't mean they had the right to treat her like she was a freak of nature.

"My name is Alexis. Alexis Lockhart. I'm not going to make any stupid moves, and I'm not going to rob you anymore. It would be stupid of me to try now that you have caught me." She said before she looked down at the ground, wondering where she was supposed to get food from now. Just as she thought of that, she heard her stomach growl loudly. She was used to it by now, even the pain that came with it, but he probably wasn't. "I'm sorry, you can turn me in if you want. I know that trying to steal from you was wrong, but it's my only way of life. I can't read or write, so I don't think anyone will ever hire me. This is all I can do." She told him softly, trying to convince him not to turn her in, without begging for his mercy. She didn't want to beg, she would rather be perceived as strong, though her way of life was a very wrong one.

Kaeneus couldn't help but believe everything she said. Yes, she was a thief. And yes, that implied a few things about her character. But something about her in that moment screamed that she was being honest. He believed her about her name, and her situation. He has seen first hand how vicious the cycle of poverty could be, and he had barely avoided it himself. He knew that turning her into the authority's wouldn't do anything for anyone. But she had tried to steal from him... he couldn't just let that slide.

"Ok, I'm not turning you in," he said, "Don't worry about that. But, just.... I haven't decided what I'm going to do with you yet. Just- give me a minute."

Kae remembered the knife the girl was carrying. "First, you're gonna get rid of your knife. Put it down and kick it toward me," maybe once the pressure of an immediate confrontation was off, he would be able to think more clearly. Kaeneus tried to weigh up his options. If he just let her go, she'd still be hungry, and just move down the street to rob another poor soul who didn't have the luck to catch her in the act.

Beyond that, Kae had a lot of sympathy for her. He wasn't exactly the best off himself, but at least he'd been in Elisium long enough to learn how to read and write. He couldn't imagine how he could have gotten as far as he could without being able to. He didn't want to endorse it... but he could absolutely see why Alexis had to do what she had to do.

There was one of the things she had told him that he really shouldn't believe, which was her last name. Her real last name was not Lockhart, though it was the name she had chosen for herself. Her real last name was Stirling, but since her family had abandoned her when she was six, she really didn't want to be connected to them in any way. So she had taken the last name of, Jane, the old woman who had taken her in when she came to the island. She would rather be related to Jane, who had looked after her for six years, than a family who had sent her away when they figured out she was defective. Though she wasn't going to tell him her real last name, really she just wanted to forget it, but it had been branded into the back of her mind for as long as she could remember.

Alexis stood perfectly still as she watched the man, listening carefully to what he had to say, since he could be holding her fate in his hands. She was relived when he said he wouldn't turn her in, but her relief didn't last long. When he told her that he hadn't decided what he was going to do with her, she suddenly froze in place, fearing what he was going to do to her. She knew what she had planned on doing was bad, and now it seemed like he was about to punish her for it, so she was scared, to say the least. "Please, just let me go." She pleaded softly, not even sure if he could hear her that time, since he seemed so distracted by trying to figure out what to do with her.

When he spoke again, telling her to give him her knife, she stood there looking at him in disbelief for a little while. He was standing there trying to figure out what to do with her, and now he wanted her to give up her way of defending herself? It wasn't like she was going to attack him, not until he tried hurting her, if that was what he planned to do. She really just wanted to keep the knife in it's sheath, until she had absolutely no other choice but to draw it and defend herself. But he was taking the option away from her, and she was becoming more and more terrified by the second. But, slowly, she did as she was told, taking the knife out of the sheath, putting on the floor and kicking it over to him, before she stood up and pressed herself up against the wall while just staring at him. "Please, don't hurt me. I promise I'll never try to do it again, just let me go and you'll never have to see me again, I promise." She pleaded again, even if she knew that he probably wasn't going to just let her go, he really seemed set on doing something to her.

Kaeneus winced at himself when he hear her reply. The voice in his head, Alexis’ voice, sounded terrified. The know that he was the cause of such fear… it wasn’t the best feeling. He couldn’t imagine what was going on in her mind. The streets were not often kind to a pretty young woman like Alexis, and Kae briefly wondered if past experiences informed the obvious and strong fear she had for him in that moment.

I haven't decided what I'm going to do with you yet. Yeah, Kae realised, that may have been a somewhat ominous thing to say.

Slowly, reluctantly, she put the knife on the floor and kicked it over to him. Kae caught it under his foot, and pulled it closer toward himself.

Kae realised there were two ways this could go. The first was an escalation. Of panic, of violence, of everything he didn’t want to happen. This could very easily end with one of both of them blooded. The second option - of trying to calm her down, to remove the immediate danger, lower the stakes - seemed much more preferable to him.

He decided to act on good faith, and, still making eye contact with Alexis, kicked the knife away from himself and into a corner of the room. It slid under one of his heavy cabinets and he heard it hit the wall, where neither of them would be able to easily reach it. Then, to extend the gesture, he slowly set him hammer down too, on the floor next to him. He tried to kick that away, too, but the significant weight of it meant it didn’t go as far as the knife. It was still out of his immediate reach, however, and he hoped that both of them being without weapons would help the situation become significantly less charged.

“What, let you go so you can go down the street and rob my neighbour? Not likely.”

He realised that might just make her more afraid, so he tried again. “I’m, I’m not going to hurt you. No one has a weapon, right? I just- I just need to…” Kaeneus wasn’t sure what he needed to do, exactly. But he figured that an introduction might be a good idea. Something to establish trust.

“My name is Kaeneus.”He said. “Kaeneus Antle. And this is my work shop, and I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Of course, there were people in Haven who only looked to pleasure themselves, at the expense of everyone else around them. Alexis had been the victim for some of these people, which was why she had reacted the way she did when it sounded like he might abuse the power he had over her in this situation. The fear she had for situations like this, was why she had been desperate to learn how to fight and defend herself. Because she was a very easy target, a small, young woman, who had no chance of calling out for help if she ever was attacked. Living on the streets wasn't an ideal situation for someone like her, but she had no choice in the matter. There was nowhere else she could live, and she had no friends she could live with. She had no friends at all.

She was able to breathe a little sigh of relief when he kicked her knife away from him and put his hammer away. In some way, even though he hadn't said so, it confirmed that he wouldn't hurt her. But there was still that little voice in the back of her mind that told her she shouldn't relax too much yet. And it was right. Because, even though he had said he wouldn't turn her in, he also said that he wouldn't let her go, because that would just mean that she would rob someone else on his street. Which was a bit like telling her that she might as well go curl up in a street corner and starve or freeze to death, because there was no other way for her to live... Unless he actually wanted to help her.

"If you won't let me go to find another place to find food, what the fuck do you want me to do?! I know stealing is wrong, but there is nothing else I can do if I want to survive. And I really want to survive." She said as tears started to well up in her eyes and she slowly let herself slide down the wall behind her, to become as small as she possibly could, sitting up against the wall with her knees pressed up against her chest as she hid her face in her hands.

She kept hiding her face from him as he spoke again, trying to calm herself down before she looked up at him again. She knew it wasn't easy for her to communicate with people when she cried, because it blurred her vision too much or her to make eye contact. But when he told her his name and said, once again, that he wouldn't hurt her, she couldn't help but look up at him again. Quickly drying her eyes so she could talk to him again. "If you're not going to hurt me, what are you going to do to me?" She asked him softly, hesitantly, wanting to trust him, but still not sure if she could.

Kae could feel how scared the girl was. Not just see it, not just sense it. Not just hear it in the slight quiver of her voice. He could feel it. He was afraid too. Not of her, he was afraid of himself. It was muted, and somehow distant, like the feeling was restrained to just the first centimetre of skin. But it was there, and it came with a clear thought. A thought that made Kae feel more than a little sick. The thought that he was predator.

Kaeneus wondered if this was another one of the girl's powers, if it went along with the way she spoke to him in his head, if she could project thoughts and feelings too. But it felt somehow different. The talking, even though it involved no actual talking, still felt somehow like a conversation. Kae could clearly tell that it was coming from her. This was something else. This felt like it came from inside himself.

Kae just felt worse the more the girl spoke. Everything she said was true. He understood that there were some people who simply had no other choice. He'd been lucky to get into his trade, but he knew that if he'd been born on the Isle of Man, never had a chance to get educated, he could just as easily be in her position.

The girl started to cry, and an uncomfortable lump formed in Kae's throat. He felt his own eyes get a little irritated, and rubbed at them with the back of his hand.

She asked what he was going to do with her, and Kae still wasn't entirely sure. He weighed his options. If he couldn't turn her in, and he couldn't send her out, then..."Stay here until morning. It's too dark now to do anything, anyway.

Kae thought for a second more. "Did you rob anyone else tonight? I can't have stolen property in my shop."

Alexis didn't have the ability to make people feel the things she felt, she had no idea that he was becoming scared of himself just because she was. She couldn't really understand why he suddenly looked so afraid, he had just made her give him her knife so she had no way of defending herself against him. He had the upper hand no matter what now. So why was he so afraid? It didn't make any sense at all. She wasn't that scary, was she? If she was that scary then no one would have attacked her, would they? It couldn't be her he was afraid of. But, then what?

She had never been lucky, at least she had never felt lucky. Her parents had given her up to the authorities when they found out she was mute, and she had been too young to learn how to read or write. So she couldn't get educated, she couldn't even get a job. Not unless she decided to sell herself, but that wasn't really something she she wanted to do. Even if she was desperate for food. She was too scared of people to let them at her like that. But at least she had been lucky enough not to have been caught by the authorities yet. That was something, at least.

When he told her that he wanted her to stay the night in his shop, her eyes widened is surprise. Wasn't he going to let her go again? Did she have to stay in his shop from now on? Probably, if he didn't want her to go out and steal again. "Do I have to stay here from now on? Or can I leave again tomorrow?" She asked him quietly, wondering if he wanted to keep her. Did he have enough money or food for that?

"I have been outside your shop all day, staking out the place, waiting for you to go home or fall asleep. I haven't been anywhere else." She told him with a sad look in her eyes. She hated that she had to do all of those things to survive, it wasn't fun and it was dangerous.What would happen to her the day she was caught or turned in to the authorities? It wouldn't be good, that was for sure. Suddenly, as she sat there up against the wall, her stomach started to rumble. She was so hungry, since she hadn't had anything to eat in a long time. But could she ask Kaeneus if he had some food he would give her? Wouldn't he want to keep it all for himself? Not very many people had enough food to just give away, and she wasn't sure if Kaeneus did.